KVR Audio

squnc · Post by **squnc** » Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:50 pm

I am not fully happy with any DAW I used. Always something off – the workflow, the UI, small things that add up. When AI tools got good enough to actually help build software, I went for it.

The result is a native macOS app that takes ideas from Ableton, Logic, Bitwig, Renoise, and MPC, combines them with features I've been missing, and wraps it in a minimal, native UI. It is centered around my own personal workflow. But I am wondering if anybody else finds this interesting.

Current features:

Command Palette (CMD-K) – every action searchable, bindable to custom shortcuts
Plugin thumbnails – live previews in the strip, no opening/closing to check what's happening
Groove Grid – shift the grid itself instead of applying groove per clip
Latency-free Sidechain – lookahead triggers that fire before the transient, zero added latency
MPC-style Slicing – sample chops instantly playable via keyboard
Tracker-style Step Recording – enter notes/chords, chops and automation points step by step as an alternative to live recording
Snap to Clip & Transient – not just the grid
App Audio Capture – record from any running app, no routing needed
Performance Capture – jam freely, commit to a clip after the fact
Also: 3-layer waveforms, project versioning, ALC, stem splitter, drum splitter, audio-to-MIDI, MCP control

Honest caveats:
- This is an early alpha. Things will change, break, and improve. Updates ship automatically.
- Timestretching is not on par with the industry standard
- macOS Tahoe only, Apple Silicon (M1+)

Curren alpha download link: https://github.com/gridshiftstudio/rele ... dshift.pkg
Discussion: https://discord.gg/FacsKanekW
Documentation: https://docs.gridshift.studio/introduction

Nathanananan · Post by **Nathanananan** » Mon Mar 23, 2026 6:13 pm

Yeah I like the style of this. I was thinking about a daw that looks like this similar to the mac finder UI. NICE!

masterhiggins · Post by **masterhiggins** » Tue Mar 24, 2026 1:14 am

Cool!

squnc · Post by **squnc** » Fri Mar 27, 2026 10:53 pm

Gridshift 0.7.0 is now available. This update adds the project bundle format needed for the iOS companion app, which will allow listening to project versions and capturing todos on the go. It also introduces the effect preset system with iCloud sync — the foundation for rack-style effect chains. Various bug fixes and performance improvements are included.

Update via **Gridshift > Check for Updates** or download from the releases page: https://github.com/gridshiftstudio/rele ... tag/v0.7.0

3lu5iv3 · Post by **3lu5iv3** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:34 am

Why Tahoe only? What about people with Sequoia?

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 5:58 am

Amazing that you've accomplished this. Shocking, actually. Sample tracks work great and I like the musical typing *A LOT*. Do you have or plan to make a tutorial for it (I'm reading the docs now)? Do you plan to add MIDI FX inserts? Is there are roadmap available? How do you want us to make bug reports?

This seems to be more composition-focused, rather than mix-focused. Is your plan to keep it that way? If so, would you be open to making this work as a plugin, the way MPC and FL Studio do?

squnc · Post by **squnc** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 6:45 am

3lu5iv3 wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 3:34 am Why Tahoe only? What about people with Sequoia?

I tried backporting it. Unfortunately it would be too much effort for a project that's still in early beta. By the time this DAW gets stable, macOS 27 is probably already announced.

squnc · Post by **squnc** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 7:04 am

Uncle E wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 5:58 am Amazing that you've accomplished this. Shocking, actually. Sample tracks work great and I like the musical typing *A LOT*. Do you have or plan to make a tutorial for it (I'm reading the docs now)? Do you plan to add MIDI FX inserts? Is there are roadmap available? How do you want us to make bug reports?

This seems to be more composition-focused, rather than mix-focused. Is your plan to keep it that way? If so, would you be open to making this work as a plugin, the way MPC and FL Studio do?

Thank you so much, really appreciate it!

Docs & tutorials: Honestly, the docs have slipped behind lately and your message is a good reminder to get them up to date with current screenshots. Proper tutorials will come too, but I'm holding off until things stabilize a bit more. Too many breaking changes right now means anything I record would be outdated fast.

MIDI FX inserts: Should be doable, adding it to the roadmap!

Roadmap & bug reports: Working on getting a proper public space set up for both. In the meantime, feel free to join the Discord at https://discord.gg/FacsKanekW — that's the best place to report bugs & features requests and follow along with development.

Composition vs. mixing: Curious to hear more! What feels like it's missing on the mix side for you? Is it something like a dedicated mixer view, or something else?

DAW-as-plugin: No active plans there. It's a significant engineering effort and would pull focus from core features, but maybe something to revisit down the road.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 5:24 pm

squnc wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 7:04 am Docs & tutorials: Honestly, the docs have slipped behind lately and your message is a good reminder to get them up to date with current screenshots. Proper tutorials will come too, but I'm holding off until things stabilize a bit more.

Thank you. A couple quick videos demonstrating how to start a track from scratch and how to utilize Claude would be great.

MIDI FX inserts: Should be doable, adding it to the roadmap!

Yes, saw this on your Discord. Thanks!

Composition vs. mixing: Curious to hear more! What feels like it's missing on the mix side for you? Is it something like a dedicated mixer view, or something else?

Yes, basically that, although anything that allows us to see levels, solos, mutes, instruments, etc. in a single window would help. For example:

Screenshot 2026-03-28 at 10.21.10 AM.png

DAW-as-plugin: No active plans there. It's a significant engineering effort and would pull focus from core features, but maybe something to revisit down the road.

Sure, understood. It's a nice way for users to start using Gridshift without having to give up our current DAW's. Also provides a solution for features that haven't been added yet.

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 5:34 pm

squnc wrote: Sun Mar 22, 2026 5:50 pm - Timestretching is not on par with the industry standard

Have you considered putting in Paulstretch? Still not on on par with industry standard but I think the people who'd be interested in Gridshift will appreciate it from a creative POV.

VOODOO U · Post by **VOODOO U** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 8:58 pm

. But I am wondering if anybody else finds this interesting.

It does sound interesting but no way will I go back to Mac. Not sure how ambitious you are with this but a Windows version would bring in more interest.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 9:00 pm

I would love this if it ran on Sequoia but no way I am installing Tahoe and uglying up my Mac

Uncle E · Post by **Uncle E** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 9:04 pm

aMUSEd wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 9:00 pm I would love this if it ran on Sequoia but no way I am installing Tahoe and uglying up my Mac

That stuff can be turned off, although it still consumes more energy even with it off.

aMUSEd · Post by **aMUSEd** » Sat Mar 28, 2026 11:18 pm

Uncle E wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 9:04 pm
aMUSEd wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 9:00 pm I would love this if it ran on Sequoia but no way I am installing Tahoe and uglying up my Mac
That stuff can be turned off, although it still consumes more energy even with it off.

I have it on iOS and while you can tone it down somewhat, everything still looks like it's covered in plastic wrap

Also lots of things are still not compatible

squnc · Post by **squnc** » Sun Mar 29, 2026 10:24 am

Uncle E wrote: Sat Mar 28, 2026 5:24 pm Yes, basically that, although anything that allows us to see levels, solos, mutes, instruments, etc. in a single window would help.

Ok understand. I thinking about adding a mixer view overlay similar to this approach:

I am building a keyboard-driven DAW from scratch – native macOS, looking for testers